Holiday Travel Guide
Whether you’re going home to celebrate with family and friends or recharging on a luxury vacation, the holiday travel season is one of the busiest travel times of the year. Taking time to think through your trip in advance will make it easier to get where you’re going without breaking your holiday stride.
Tips for Happy Holiday Traveling
Whether it’s over the river and through the woods in the family SUV, or a cross-country trip via airplane, traveling is easily one of the most stressful parts of the holidays. With some patience and planning, though, you can arrive at your destination with your holiday spirit (and sanity) intact.
A Smooth Start
The essential first step to any road trip is coffee. Save time and cash by fueling up at home with a perfectly brewed cup from your Specialty Drip Coffee Maker instead of stopping at the coffee shop. You can fill up your favorite travel mug to get your day started, put a little extra in a to-go thermos to keep you going when road-weariness sets in. Don’t forget to download some fun listens before you go. A holiday music playlist to get you into the spirit or an engrossing podcast to keep your mind busy will help the travel time pass quickly.
Plan, Plan, Plan
With everyone traveling to see family and friends, roadway congestion and airport/train station crowds are to be expected during the holiday. Planning ahead reduces stress, so you can arrive at your destination refreshed, not irritable and exhausted. Book your tickets well in advance, avoid the highest travel days (like the Wednesday before Thanksgiving), plan your route and consider alternates (bring a GPS or paper map for re-routing help) and stick to a schedule. Above all else: be patient.
Make Sure the Gifts Arrive
After you’ve found the perfect gifts (check our Holiday Gift Guide for ideas!), you’ll want to make sure they arrive safely in the hands of the person you selected them for. Shipping gifts yourself or ordering them to be shipped directly can remove some stress (like increased baggage fees and damaged or lost packages)—just make sure you account for increased shipping delays. If you take gifts on an airplane, don’t wrap them until after you arrive; TSA agents are likely to unwrap them during baggage checks. A final tip? Ship gift wrap and supplies, too, so you won’t have to borrow from your host.
Be the Perfect Guest
If you’re staying with friends or family, be a gracious visitor. Obvious guest etiquette includes cleaning up after yourself, communicating your schedule and respecting theirs, and offering to help. We suggest arriving with a hostess gift like flowers, cookies or wine (one that pairs well with holiday meals). Want to get fancy? Dazzle them with a Le Creuset piece that will lend spectacular hues to their kitchen, or a distinctively designed countertop appliance from our Café Expressions Collection, like the Café Express Finish Toaster or Café Drip Coffee Maker in one of three sophisticated finishes.
Spread Holiday Cheer
With the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, it’s easy to feel like someone is slowing down your progress. You’ll arrive at your holiday travel destination with significantly more holiday cheer if you take time to spread some along the way. Many of those you encounter on your holiday travel adventures are giving up time with their family to make sure you spend the holidays with yours—sharing your thanks and holiday wishes along the way is the best way to help make your holiday travel a little more enjoyable. When it comes down to it, enjoying time with loved ones – no matter how you get there – is what it’s all about.